Like Him
by emeraldteardrops
Summary: Lucy and Caspian interaction. Summary: Chivalry comes in large and small packages.


A/N I couldn't help myself. Written as a response for the weekly drabble contest at the _susancaspian_ livejournal community, prompt word _Chivalry_.

**Like Him**

The Queen was crying.

Lucy Pevensie had gotten tired of the copious amount of guards that Caspian had insisted follow her around, and she had given them the slip earlier. Actually, she hadn't necessarily given them the slip so much as she had given them something else to do, and if they wanted to guard her instead then they were going to have to go ask Peter to overturn her command. Technically Lucy outranked Caspian so they would have to go to the High King, although Lucy felt like Caspian only allowed her to outrank him because he found it cute. Lucy doubted if anything serious came up that anyone would chose to do what she said over what he said. Having been grown once in her life already, such things were hard to accept, and some days even her good natured personality rebelled. But there were downsides to the peace of being left to oneself. The littlest Queen had fallen and she was pretty sure that her ankle was sprained, and there was no one nearby to give her even the littlest bit of help.

"Well, this is no good," Lucy sniffed after she had stopped crying. The fall had been out of an oak tree and a part of her was a bit peeved that the Tree had not seen fit to stop her descent. True she had slipped out past the town and into the woods that surrounded Caspian's castle, and it was uncertain whether or not these trees were Trees, but it could have _tried_. Lucy attempted to stand up, only to crumple back down, a fresh wave of tears coming.

"Why are you crying?" a voice asked from above her head. Lucy looked up and saw what had convinced her to climb the tree in the first place. It was a little blue jay, still a chick, and it was peering over the edge of its nest at her quizzically.

"Oh! You're a Bird," Lucy said happily, momentarily forgetting her ankle. "I hadn't realized."

"Am I?" the Chick asked, craning its tiny head around to look at itself. "Why I suppose I am… is that a good thing?"

"Yes, very much so," Lucy assured him, for it was a him. "It means that you are a Talking Beast of Narnia. Did you not know? I would have thought your Mum would have told you so."

The little Blue Jay looked sad.

"I have not seen her since yesterday. I am very hungry…" He looked at her wistfully, making a little chirping noise.

"You poor thing," Lucy said, full of sympathy. In many ways the Birds were not that different from birds, and found themselves a tasty dinner for too many things. Chicks left alone too long would not survive, and if its parents hadn't been back yet, then it was probable they weren't coming back.

"I don't suppose you have anything to eat?" the Chick asked hopefully. "I don't have much to trade, but you can share my nest if you like."

"I don't think I would fit," Lucy admitted, declining politely. "But thank you. I don't have anything to eat, but I could get you something if it weren't for my ankle."

Thinking about it reminded her of it and despite her braveness, her eyes welled up once more. Peter would be so mad at her, slipping off the way she had, and no one knew where to find her.

"Please don't cry," the Blue Jay pleaded. "My mother will be back soon. She will feed us both, and then everything will be okay."

Lucy smiled at the Chick through her tears, wondering if the tiny Bird already knew that his mother was gone and if he was just trying to make her feel better.

"They will find us eventually," Lucy reassured the Chick, scooting around so that the pressure was taken off her ankle. "My brothers will… I have two, three really. They will find us."

"You don't know how many brothers you have?" the Bird gave a skeptical chirp, as if realizing he might be speaking to someone that was half-witted. Lucy chuckled.

"I have two real brothers. The third is in love with my sister and if she marries him, he will be my brother too."

"Birds don't marry," the Chick informed her seriously, repeating what his mother had taught him. "We mate for life."

"So do we," Lucy agreed. "Well, not all men. But the good ones do. Where is your father, dear Bird?"

The littlest Blue Jay made another sniffing noise and shuffled his tiny wings.

"Mother says that he was very brave before he died and dropped a stone on a Tally-Tolmy-Tellmy--" the Chick stumbled over the word so Lucy filled it in for him.

"Telmarine?"

"Yes, that's it. He dropped a stone on a Telmarine head for Prince Cassian."

"Prince Caspian?"

"Oh no, I'm sure it was Cassian."

Lucy giggled but didn't correct him.

"I _am_ very hungry, are you sure you don't have any food?" he begged, round dark eyes blinking rapidly. "It's making me tired."

Lucy knew that was a bad sign, and so she checked her pockets. There was nothing there that was suitable for a bird, or for a human girl either.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said, feeling quite awful. She looked around her, then noticed that there was some softer dirt at the base of the tree. Maybe there were some worms that she could find for the Bird? The idea of going over there was grand, but the effort that went into it was much less so. Lucy tried to hobble on one foot, but there were too many tree roots around her, making the ground uneven. The second time she fell she burst into tears once more, holding her ankle while the Chick made worried little noises, asking if she was alright. But Lucy was a Queen of Narnia and one of her subjects needed care, so she forced herself to crawl awkwardly until she got to the tree trunk. There she rested a moment, biting her lip until the pain had dulled from sharp daggers to a dull throb, and then set about digging for worms.

"Have you found anything?" the Blue Jay asked anxiously, craning his head over the top of the nest and watching Lucy scratch at the dirt with the knife Father Christmas had given her long ago.

"Not yet… oh yes! I have found something!" Lucy held the squirming bit in her hand, brandishing it triumphantly. The worm wiggled worriedly, and Lucy's face fell. "You aren't perhaps a Worm, are you?" she asked, sounding a bit sick. The worm (or Worm) couldn't answer, but that didn't mean that it wished to be fed to a hungry Chick. The Bird looked at her hopefully.

"I don't know if it is a Worm or not," Lucy said sadly, looking up at the Bird. For a moment it looked very disappointed, but then the little thing tried to be brave.

"Then I suppose it wouldn't be right to eat it then, would it?" the Chick decided selflessly. Lucy thought that secretly he hoped she would tell him that it was okay to eat it anyway, but Lucy couldn't bring herself to do it.

"I'll find something else," she promised. There had to be some berries around here somewhere. So she set off to find them. Now if anyone has ever sprained their ankle, they know how incredibly painful it is. But if anyone then decided to search the woods for berries on that same ankle, catching it on a root here and falling because of the bumpy ground there, they would know what real pain was. Unfortunate the only berry bush that Lucy could find had already been stripped of its fruit from another hungry creature.

"Perhaps if you helped me down, I would be able to find something myself," the Bird trilled, sounding weaker by the second. Even Lucy, who was the last to be daunted by the task, knew that even if she was able to get herself back up with only one working foot she wouldn't be able to get herself and him back down safely. She tried anyway. The Chick chirped encouragement as she once more crawled to the base of the tree and tried to grab the lowest laying branch.

"You almost have it," he said. "Just a little higher." So Lucy stretched a little more, balanced on one foot, her fingertips almost brushing it. The last time she had grabbed it by jumping. She knew better than to try. She did anyways. Lucy actually managed to cling to the branch for a half second before her grip slipped and she fell. On her ankle. This time something gave and she screamed, as much in frustration as in pain. The Bird started crying too, thinking perhaps his new friend was dying, and that scared him. Neither one noticed the sound of hoof beats approaching.

"Lucy?" She looked up to see several horsemen, the first of which was rapidly dismounting. He strode over to her quickly, ducking his dark head beneath the oak branches, and Lucy found herself wrapped up in strong chain mailed arms. "Lu, are you alright? What has happened?"

Sometimes a comforting hug does the opposite and makes one fall apart. Her words made little sense between chokes and sniffles.

"The tree… not a Tree… my ankle… the Bird's an orphan… I couldn't kill the Worm… _and there's no berries_!" Lucy buried her face in Caspian's chest and sobbed. Not having understood any of it, Caspian let her cry herself out, stroking her hair comfortingly. He could tell from the way she was holding her leg that her foot hurt.

"Please sir, is she dying?" a tiny voice asked from above, making the King look up curiously. "If she is, then it is my fault, I was just very hungry. My mother told me I must take care of females and I do not think I have done so with her. Perhaps if you have a stone and some Tallymarines, I can make it up to her. That is, if Prince Cassian approves." The baby Bird looked at him sadly, but he puffed his chest up courageously. Floored, Caspian took a moment to reply.

"That is very chivalrous of you, good Bird," he finally said. "But the Queen is not dying. Lu, may I check your ankle?" Lucy sniffed but nodded assent and pulled the hem of her skirt up enough to show her foot, the Bird watching all of this with round eyes. Caspian touched the swollen skin delicately, noticing how it had already darkened and how she was unable to turn it.

"You have done a number on your ankle, little Lu," Caspian told her, shaking his head. He knew her enough to start piecing together the story. "I take it we are bringing the Bird back with us?"

Lucy nodded, and gave him a hug.

"Thank you. He's all alone. Oh Caspian, I've snotted on you again!" Lucy looked appalled, but Caspian just smiled.

"You seem to do that often, dear sister mine. As do you run off. We will have talk about this later."

"I know," Lucy ducked her head. "I'm in trouble aren't I?"

"If we can sneak to your room to get your cordial without anyone noticing, perhaps I can cover for you just this once," he told her with a wink, lifting her up and carrying her to Destrier.

"Really?" she wiped her eyes, suddenly feeling much better as he settled her on the horse.

"Really. Now, about this Bird…" Caspian returned to the tree and looked up. "My name is King Caspian, sir Blue Jay. Do I have your permission to relocate you to my castle?"

"Do you have anything to eat there?" the Chick asked worriedly. Caspian hid a grin and nodded solemnly. "Well, then I guess it is okay."

So Caspian, being much taller than Lucy, lifted the nest out of the tree and set it in Lucy's arms. Then he mounted behind the Queen, holding her steady with one hand and taking the reins with the other. Despite the echoing of hoof beats as he and his guards rode back to the castle, Caspian could hear the Bird whisper to Lucy from the safety of its nest.

"He called me chivalrous. What does that mean?" the Chick wanted to know. Lucy leaned in and whispered back.

"It means that you are like him."

The Bird puffed up its little chest proudly. Behind them both, the King smiled.


End file.
